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Police Chief Under Investigation, City Stays Quiet

For more than a month, one local town has been without a police department after mysteriously putting its chief on administrative leave last month.

On September 3rd, the Brownsdale City Council placed Chief of Police Jason Mindrup on paid administrative leave.

The decision happened in a closed door meeting, leaving a lot of questions unanswered.

But ABC 6 has learned that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is conducting an investigation into the case, and in order to avoid any conflict of interest, Mower County officials have already arranged for Olmsted County to handle any potential criminal charges.

So far, Brownsdale officials haven't released any information about the case, and they say until the BCA’s investigation is complete, their hands are tied.

“We are strictly in a waiting stance,” said Mayor Dave Pike. “I have been informed of nothing as far as any investigation goes, just that there is an on-going investigation and we're waiting to hear the results of that."

But citizens are still concerned.

At a city council meeting on Monday night, several residents raised questions about the city's security and how city officials are handling the investigation.

The city is currently being patrolled by the Mower County Sheriff's Department, and at Monday's meeting the city council approved a measure that will allow them to hire a temporary police officer to fill in until the investigation is complete.

City officials have already been in contact with someone from a nearby law enforcement department who is interested in the part-time position and they hope to finalize an agreement within the next week.